Environmental Tips: First: Reduce

The critical first step of waste prevention has been overshadowed by a focus on recycling. Please help to promote a greater awareness of the importance of the "Reduce" part of the Reduce-Reuse-Recycle mantra. For a great overview of how raw materials and products move around the world, see the video The Story of Stuff.

• Simplify: Simplify your life as much as possible. Only keep belongings that you use/enjoy on a regular basis. By making the effort to reduce what you own, you will naturally purchase less/create less waste in the future. For information on voluntary simplicity, check out Voluntary Simplicity Websites. Learn more through books on voluntary simplicity. The Compact blog (and Yahoo group accessed from blog) supports individuals committed to not buying products for a year.
• Reduce Purchases: In general, think before you buy any product - do you really need it? How did the production of this product impact the environment and what further impacts will there be with the disposal of the product (and associated packaging materials)? When you are thinking about buying something, try the 30-Day Rule -- wait 30 days after the first time you decide you want a product to really make your decision. This will eliminate impulse buying.
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• Tree-Free Home: As much as possible, create a tree-free home:
  • replace paper napkins with cloth napkins
  • replace paper towels with a special set of cloth towels/napkins (or cut up old t-shirts for great towels) - store the used ones in a small container in your kitchen and just wash and reuse
  • purchase bleach-free, toilet paper that is made from the highest post-consumer waste content you can find (80% minimum)

For the rest of the story, visit GlobalStewards.org

http://playersfortheplanet.org/

Ways to Go Green at Work

Maximize computer efficiency
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Computers in the business sector unnecessarily waste $1 billion worth of electricity a year.

Make it a habit to turn off your computer—and the power strip it's plugged into—when you leave for the day. Otherwise, you're still burning energy even if you're not burning the midnight oil. (Check with your IT department to make sure the computer doesn't need to be on to run backups or other maintenance.) During the day, setting your computer to go to sleep automatically during short breaks can cut energy use by 70 percent. Remember, screen savers don't save energy.

Print smarter
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The average U.S. office worker goes through 10,000 sheets of copy paper a year.

Make it a habit to print on both sides or use the back side of old documents for faxes, scrap paper, or drafts. Avoid color printing and print in draft mode whenever feasible.

Make it a habit to think before you print: could this be read or stored online instead? When you receive unwanted catalogs, newsletters, magazines, or junk mail, request to be removed from the mailing list before you recycle the item.

Create a healthy office environment.

Make it a habit to use nontoxic cleaning products. Brighten up your cubicle with plants, which absorb indoor pollution.

Read the rest of the article here.

Visit our website and learn how you can be involved here.

Environmentally Friendly Campfires

Now that it is warmer more people are going to be spending more time outdoors. Many people will do this by camping or having bonfires in their yards. Since this is something that is fun to do, I thought I would share some tip that will help you to have a more Eco-friendly time.

• When camping in a state or national forest make sure you are following the fire regulations. These are set for a reason and need to be followed to ensure that everyone can have a good time while camping.
• Choose a good location to start a fire. Make sure that the spot you choose is level and open with no overhanging branches or dry bushes that can catch on fire. Many campsites will have spots that have already been used for fires by past campers. The rule of thumb is to have a 10 foot circle where there is nothing flammable around the fire.
• Respect the natural habitat. This means take a small 15 minute walk when you gather wood for your fire, this will disperse your impact over a larger area. Also the wood should be keep far enough away from the fire there will be no chance of accidental ignition.
• Size Matters. Only build a big enough fire for what you need, big fires just bring more hazards that could happen. If you pack more warmer clothes you will be able to stay warm without a really huge fire.
• No Plastics. Metals and woods that are chemically treated and plastics should never be burned as they create air pollution.
• Never leave a fire unattended, not even for a few seconds.
• Don’t leave children or pets unattended by a fire.
• Always have a bucket of sand or water to throw on the fire in case of an emergency.
• 30 minutes before leaving the campground make sure that your fire is completely out.Throw water on ashes after the fire has died down.
• Redistribute the leftover wood to where you found it so that you are leaving the area close to how you found it.

Find more eco-friendly crafts and tips here.

For more information on Players for the Planet and how you can be involved, visit our website here.

10 Tips to Greener Living

1. Change to Fluorescent Bulbs - If every house in the United States changed all of the light bulbs in their house, that would be equivalent to taking one million cars off the streets.

2. Don't Rinse - Skip rinsing your plates before putting them into the dishwasher. In average you will save 15 gallons of water per load. Plus, you will save time.

3. Hang Outside to Dry - Get a cloths line or rack to dry your cloths. Your cloths will last longer and you will save money

4. Turn off computers at night - don't just put them to sleep. You will save an average of 4 cents a day which ads up to $14.60 a year.

5. Use Both Sides of Paper - if you have a printer with a double sided print option use it. You will save half of the amount of paper you would have normally used.

Then when your done bring it to the recycle bin.

6. Get rid of baths - Don't take baths, take showers. You will in average save about half the amount of water that you would if you were taking a bath.

7. Don't get bottled water - Instead of bottled water get a reusable container to carry water. Also you can get a filter to make your home tap taste more like bottled water. It is definitely more cost efficient.

8. Turn the water off when you brush - Your parents have said this before, now I say it. You will save 4 gallons of water doing this alone.

9. Shorten your shower - Every minute you cut from your shower is roughly 5 gallons of water. The less time your shower takes, the lower your impact on the environment.

10. Recycle Glass - If you do not recycle this, it will take a million years to decompose.

Read the rest of the article here.

To find out how you can take a more active role in helping our planet, visit our website: Players for the Planet